"This is amazing! I've always wanted a little farm! You are living my dream!"Growing up in suburbia where the idea of growing and raising my own food seemed distant, I can certainly relate. I love animals and the idea of a little farm with different animals running around seemed like heaven.
The problem is, I didn't grow up around livestock. I wasn't part of 4H or FFA (Future Farmers of America). Heck, I haven't even taken a horse-back riding lesson. The closest I got to a horse was the little pony rides in Pasadena. How could I be a farmer?
But where there is a will, there is a way, and here I am, 29 years old with 1 acre to do as I please. And what was the first thing I did? I got my goats.
Please don't get me wrong. I did a TON of research before I got the goats. I made sure that I was capable of giving them a good home before I even started calling breeders. But there are some things that only life and experience can teach you ... and maybe a 16 year-old 4H kid.
And here is where my story begins...
Some goat owners de-worm their goats monthly, some do it seasonally, some use herbal de-wormers, and others use chemical de-wormers. De-wormers are a lot like antibiotics. There is not just one de-wormer to kill all parasites, just like there isn't one antibiotics to kill all bacteria. Also, parasites can grow resistant to de-wormers, just like what happens to antibiotics. With that information at hand, I decided that the best way to de-worm my goats was to do it only when necessary and to pick the appropriate de-wormer for the parasite they have. This can be accomplished by doing a fecal flotation. Since I don't know how to do a fecal test, I've made an arrangement with my doggy vet for them to do them for a small fee. After all, poop is poop and a parasite is a parasite, it doesn't matter if it is coming from a goat or a dog.
I've been doing this regularly and so far all my lab results have come back negative for any parasite load, until Friday.
On Friday, I got an email from the veterinarian with these results:
OVA&PARA: OVA & PARASITESOkay? What does that mean?
EIMERIA OOCYSTS PRESENT RARE (1-2)
Coccidia.
I go to my goat reference book to figure out which de-wormer to use, when I read that Coccidia is one of the main killers of goat kids. Coccidiosis is fatal.
This is about the point when I start flipping out.
I do some quick research (super fast), and figure out that I need either Corid or Sulmet. A lot of goat owners are not big fans of Corid because it can deplete the thiamine in the body, so many use Sulmet to treat (not diluted). So I started making calls to all the local feed stores.
I call Livermore Feed, Alamo Feed, Concord Feed, Western Saddlery, and Rowell Ranch Saddlery. Every single one of them are out of both Corid and Sulmet. Something about it being back-ordered from the manufacturer. So finally I call the large animal vet. This is what she tells me:
"Well Coccidia tends to kill the strongest animal first. You may come home to a dead animal. Do you want me to treat them? Well no, I don't have the treatment. I will have to order it."UGH! Super unhelpful!
So I call my goat breeder and she is not immediately available.
Who next to call? How about Nicole?
Nicole is my 16-year old goat sitter. She is so worldly and wise beyond her years. Right now she is away at college. Yes, college. She is going to a junior college and then plans to attend UC Davis veterinary school. This is where I wish I had her experience. She is active in her local 4H group and has been raising and breeding goats her entire life. She calmly explained to me that it is normal for adult goats to have a small number of coccidia present in their intestinal tract. That adults have a strong enough immune system to handle the parasite, but that goat kids are very susceptible to it.
Wow, nothing is more humbling than calling a teenage girl for advice. But thank goodness she is there!
I confirmed this information with a few websites and with the goat breeder, who finally called me back.
Why am I telling this story? To let you guys know that it is not all a walk in the park. That despite my crazy hoof-trimming schedule, testing, meticulous cleaning, grooming, I still don't know it all. And I panic. Once Sulmet becomes available again I am going to keep it in my goat medicine kit. But I am learning and I am researching and dammit, I am going to eat that goat cheese!
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